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locating a cache!


squidgy

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Ok, so am logged onto geocaching.com, got all caches in local area, but is there any way to sort of know where to start looking for a cache that is say 3.8kn NE away from my home. How do you start? :ph34r: is there a method if you are not familiar with the area and if the details do not tell you (one just says on a footpath)

How are we to know?

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On the cache page under "For Online Maps" click on Google Maps. I find looking at the area in the hybrid view to be helpful if no parking location is listed. Also, many towns will have listings of parks on their web site. Googling "parks <city> <state>" can yield results for that. If a particular park or conservation area is mentioned on the cache page then google "<park name> <city> <state>". Or, if you want to make things easy for your first find you could just find another cache nearby that lists parking coordinates. Good luck on your find!

Edited by Skip_
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When I first started, I just "followed the arrow." Then, I finally figured out there was a map page on my GPSr . . . Doh! :P I would look at that little screen and try to figure out the roads and follow them to the closest access.

 

If your GPSr doesn't have maps, using the mapping features of GC.com and/or Google Earth and taking along printouts of those can be invaluable. idea.gif

 

Later on after you become a Premium Member and start getting pocket queries, if you use GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife) to slice and dice the data, you can filter in a specific direction and distance from your home coordinates or any other "centerpoint" you choose. :ph34r:

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I find the TopoZone link on the cache page very helpful too, at least for U.S. caches. It will show you a U.S. government topographical map of the area, so you may be able to see the best approaches.

Edited by marnen
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Ok, so am logged onto geocaching.com, got all caches in local area, but is there any way to sort of know where to start looking for a cache that is say 3.8kn NE away from my home. How do you start? :( is there a method if you are not familiar with the area and if the details do not tell you (one just says on a footpath)

How are we to know?

 

great many thanks for that, just discovered the map ref which helps greatly if you dont know which direction to go in!

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OKay, I have the co-ordinates of the cache in the gps, I have a map on paper and a pretty good Idea where the cache is. But How do you use a Gps to help you find the location??

I click goto and a screen comes up of what looks like a compas, and some other windows.

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How do you use a Gps to help you find the location??

Every GPSr is different. But...

I click goto and a screen comes up of what looks like a compas, and some other windows.

The screen that looks like a compass will probably have a pointer that will show you the direction to the cache. For other navigation features, check your GPSr's manual.

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Welll... I lost the manual :(.

Then get another copy. I don't know what kind of GPSr you have, but Garmin and Magellan both have product manuals available for free download; other manufacturers probably do too. If you don't have the manual, then you don't have the information needed to make the best use of the device you paid for, so you've wasted your money.

OKay, that what I figured but when I move around the pointer stays the same.

(sorry I am such a noob)

How far have you tried to move? GPS is typically only accurate to about 20 feet at best.

And theres also a screen that says distance... so i am guessing that means distance from location?

Almost certainly.

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OkaY I will try to locate my manual or download another.

But say like with your Gps, what do you do to locate a cache??

Umm alright the arrow is moving now.

OKay well. I marked a location, then went far away from it and went to go-to. instead of useung the compass I tried going my the distance, like walk a way and if the distance went down I kept going. But by the time I got to the poiunt I marked it said I was about eight meters away So I am guessing that is not a reliable way to do it.

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When I got my Magellan 500 the manual was a PDF on the software disks that came with it. Of course the manuals were fairy lame (most of it is stuff you could figure out by pressing buttons about on your new toy) So doing some Google searches on functions on a particular GPSr can scare up some stuff written by individuals who have said unit and may have worked out some of the idiosyncracies that most manuals seem to miss.

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